


Waiting to Begin

by Tarlan



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic Park III (2001)
Genre: Angst, Community: smallfandomfest, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-09
Updated: 2011-01-09
Packaged: 2017-10-14 14:36:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Isla Sorna fading into the distance but with the effects of those terrifying days still lingering, Alan was waiting for his life to begin again. All he needed was Billy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting to Begin

**Author's Note:**

> Written for smallfandomfest FEST08

Alan knew he wasn't going to feel safe until his feet were back on the dusty ground at his dig in Montana, and he wasn't going to feel content until Billy was standing right there beside him. For now, at least they had survived Isla Sorna, which was far more than he had ever expected, and the Kirby's had found their son alive. Even the migrating pteranodons could not wipe the small smile from his face on finding Billy alive, though he might have had a far different feeling about them if he had left this island believing Billy was dead--torn apart and eaten.

The helicopter ride was smooth and from his seat near the window Alan could see several Navy ships in the distance but he wished they had let him sit where he could watch over Billy. As the minutes went by, his anxiety increased, especially as he could see sudden movement from the medics tending to Billy. Alan glanced across at Erik and his parents who had a slightly better view. All of them looked worried and when Mrs. Kirby glanced at him with concern, he knew something was happening with Billy.

Unable to sit still any longer, Alan unbuckled his seat belt and moved forward, only to be stopped by one of the medics.

"Please, you have to return to your seat. We'll be landing shortly."

"Alan!"

Above the roar of the helicopter engine and blades, Alan heard Billy cry out his name and he glared at the medic before brushing him aside. Holding onto the edge of the metal wall separating him from Billy, Alan leaned around and saw two medics working over Billy with one snapping orders at the second.

"Hold him still! Hold him--"

Alan dropped down beside Billy's head and reached for his face, turning Billy's head so they were looking straight at each other. He could see Billy's eyes were clouded with pain and panic.

"Billy! Billy, look at me. Billy"

Billy stopped struggling, his panic receding as he focused completely on Alan but his breathing remained far too rapid. "I'm sorry. I only wanted..."

Alan felt a wave of sorrow and guilt, and Alan tightened his hold a fraction, brushing his thumbs over the pale, pain-filled face. He lowered his voice so only Billy could hear him. "I know. I know. And I was wrong. What I said to you was wrong. You're nothing like them, Billy. Nothing. I was wrong. I was so wrong."

The rest of the panic left the pain-filled eyes as Billy registered his words, and Alan saw Billy's long dark lashes flicker in relief. "Hurts."

"Let them help you, Billy. You're safe now. We're both safe now."

The temptation to glance down Billy's heavily bandaged body to see what the medics were doing was strong but Alan resisted because Billy needed his undivided attention. He needed someone to focus on to help distract him from the pain of his injuries, but when Alan saw Billy's eyes start to glaze over, he whimpered out a refusal.

"No. No, Billy."

A hand grasped his shoulder. "It's okay, Dr. Grant. We've given him something slightly stronger for the pain. You need to return to your seat now."

Alan shrugged off the hand, refusing to break eye contact with Billy. His own hands were still grasped either side of Billy's face, his eyes still holding Billy's. "No. I'm staying right here."

Alan had already survived one plane crash and the same plane falling out of a tree so a slightly bumpy landing in a helicopter was not going to faze him. Eventually, the medic decided not to argue and backed off, going back to his task of monitoring his patient's condition while Alan held onto Billy's drugged gaze like it was their only lifeline, refusing to let go. He had lost him once and he had no intention of losing him again.

He felt a series of bumps as the helicopter landed on the moving deck of the Navy vessel and the roar of the blades began to fade away as the engine was switched off. The door to the passenger compartment opened suddenly and light flooded into the interior along with the sound of the ocean. Alan had no choice but to let go and step back as the medics began lifting the stretcher but he was damned if he was going to let them take Billy without following on close behind. The man from the beach grasped at his arm after he jumped down onto the deck behind Billy's stretcher.

"Dr. Grant."

But Alan placed his hand over the man's squeezing it once in reassurance before dislodging the fingers. He knew the Navy would have questions but Billy came first.

"Dr. Grant!" The man tried to follow but an officer stopped him. "Let him go, sir. He needs to get a medical check-up anyway."

No longer hindered, Alan picked up his pace to catch up with the medics, following all the way to the medical section but another man stepped into his path before he could enter.

"Sir, is he any relation to you?"

"No, but I have medical rights in case of any accidents while under my supervision."

Admittedly, those rights only applied at the dig where there was always the possibility of an accident from a fall on the rocky ground, or cuts from rock splinters as they hunted prime sites for locating the fossilized remains of dinosaurs. Technically, this trip to Isla Sorna had not been a part of the dig except in the most tenuous of links--the Kirbys had offered to finance the dig in return for Alan's services. He had brought Billy along purely because Billy had put him into this situation so he ought to help him play the tour guide. Alan had never expected them to end up on the island, alone and unarmed, facing angry velociraptors, hungry pteranodons and a spinosaurus that had placed them at the top of its dinner menu.

"Sir, he's in good hands now. We have a surgical team already prepped to deal with the most immediate of his injuries, and once he is stable we'll be transporting him to the Navy hospital in Florida."

Alan nodded and watched as Billy was rushed away.

"We need to check you and the others over now."

"I want to be on that helicopter."

"You will be, sir."

No one stopped Alan from taking a seat in the helicopter beside Billy on the journey to the hospital, even though Billy was still heavily sedated after surgery to deal with internal bleeding. Throughout the flight, Alan never let go of Bill's bruised and lacerated fingers, and he never let his eyes drift from Billy's face. He thought of Ellie and the life he could not give her, of the children that had made her happy and pushed back the terrifying memories of those few days in Jurassic Park. Despite his implied words to Ian Malcolm during that tour car ride, they had never dated and they never would. They would always be the closest of friends though, looking out for each other, and today had proved it because none of them would have survived the velociraptors if it hadn't been for Billy's prototype resonance chamber and, more importantly, the helicopters that seemed to respond to its call for help, courtesy of Ellie.

With Billy it was different. He had held back from deepening their friendship because of the age difference, and because of his dubious position as Billy's mentor, but he was ashamed now. The incident in Jurassic Park had shown him that life was too short for sitting back and waiting for things to happen but like an inattentive student, he had not listened. Isla Sorna had hammered that lesson home the moment he saw the pteranodon lifting Billy full body out of the water, with its talons piercing through vulnerable flesh. And he had learned remorse for his harsh words and regret for his inaction the moment Billy disappeared under the churning water, beneath beating leathery wings and viciously stabbing beaks.

He had learned his lesson well. Alan made a promise that when Billy awoke he would tell him how he feels about him. He would tell him how much he wants to be more than just Billy's part-time mentor and friend, and he would tell him that the only thing that matters in life is the time they could spend together.

From unguarded moments at the dig, from Billy's devastation at his harsh words in the pteranodon cage, and from the look in Billy's eyes on the helicopter trip from Isla Sorna, Alan already knew his answer.

All he had to do now was wait for the rest of their lives to begin.

END


End file.
